New KU Council Appointed After Land Row With State House
The dissolution of the university council chaired by Prof. Shem Migo-Adholla and the removal of Vice Chancellor Prof. Paul Wainaina have resulted in a change of guard at Kenyatta University.
For weeks, the ousted council chairman had refused to turn over the university title deed to the Ministry of Lands for excision, claiming that the institution had a long-term development master plan that covered every inch of the parcel.
Prof. Chrispus Kiamba chairs the university’s new council, which includes Jane Wamoko, Carilus Odumbe, Maj. Gen (Rtd) Bashir Yussuf, Andrew Nyanchoga, and Alice Muita.
Prof. Wainaina’s tenure at the institution came to an end when a new acting Vice Chancellor took over.
This came as Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha defended the Executive’s decision to hive off a portion of the university’s land, as decided by the Cabinet in May.
“The government can decide that the site of this school is good for a nuclear facility. Once it passes through the cabinet, who do you think you are not to follow? It does not belong to you. All lands belongs to the government,” Magoha said on Wednesday.
“Government owns everything, including the land that I am standing on… When the government pronounces itself in a manner that you feel is repugnant to you as a person, the most honorable thing is to walk away.”
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will receive the 410 acres excavated from the university’s property.
Another 180 acres were set aside for the Kenyatta University Teaching, Research, and Referral Hospital (KUTRRH), while 190 were set aside for squatter resettlement in Kamae.
In a series of letters sent to ousted VC Prof. Wainaina earlier this month, Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua directed him to hand over the university’s title deed to the Ministry of Lands to facilitate its excision.
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The council, however, refused to hand over the title deed, claiming that the university had plans for the large parcel of land.
The Kenya Law Society (LSK) has instructed its lawyers to go to court and stop the new developments at Kenyatta University.
Squatters in Kamae, who have been fighting the university for years over land, welcomed the Cabinet decision and celebrated the institution’s change of guard.
New KU Council Appointed After Land Row With State House
